Austria Remains an Internationally Sought-After Business Location 

• High quality of business location and expansion projects and total investments of € 1.1 billion – despite the tough economic times 

• Three-fold increase in consultations by the Austrian Business Agency in 2024 shows that interest in the Austrian business location on the part of international companies, skilled workers and film productions continues to be strong 

Vienna, 25 March 2025 – The Austrian Business Agency (ABA), the country’s national investment promotion agency, reports a new all-time high of more than 21,000 consultations provided in its business areas “Invest in Austria”, “Work in Austria” and “Film in Austria” in the year 2024. Accordingly, demand for its services has almost tripled over a period of just three years (2022: 8,000; 2023: 13,000). 

“The number of consultations underlines the fact that ABA is internationally recognised as the Austrian competence centre on business location issues,” says René Tritscher, Managing Director of ABA. “International investors, skilled workers and film producers are increasingly taking advantage of our customised consulting services and highly value Austria’s competitive advantages.” 

ABA supported 309 international companies on their business location and expansion projects in 2024, involving investments of about € 1.1 billion in Austria. A closer look at these realised projects by country of origin reveals that Germany remains the top investor with 102 business location projects, followed by Italy with 23. Switzerland and Hungary each accounted for 20 companies setting up or expanding business operations in Austria, compared to thirteen from the USA. Moreover, business location and expansion projects from France, Netherlands and Great Britain also made important contribution to ABA’s positive business results in 2024.  

66 of the 309 implemented business location and expansion projects focused on the field of information and communications technology (ICT). Life sciences (21 projects) along with energy and environmental technology (17) were also among the top five. 35 of the realised projects involve research and development services. Accordingly, Austria once again reinforced its position internationally as a strong location for research and innovation. Austria is ranked sixth in the European Union by the European Innovation Scorecard and belongs to the group of “Strong Innovators.” The country is even rated first in the category of intellectual property. No other EU member state has registered as many patents, trademarks, and designs in relation to its GDP. A total of 40 international startups supported by ABA also decided for Austria in 2024.  

One example of an R&D intensive company is Lam Research headquartered in the USA, which repeatedly invests in expanding its Austrian facility. The company’s site in Villach serves as the global centre for the development and production of its Spin Clean products used in semiconductor manufacturing. “Austria offers an excellent infrastructure, well-trained skilled workers and a stable environment. These factors enable us to continuously develop innovatiove tecvhnologies and increase our production capacities,“ states Walter Lerch, Site Leader Villach, Lam Research. “ABA provides substantial support to us in expanding our existing site, establishes valuable contacts for us to local authorities and partners and helps us to attract highly qualified employees,” he adds.  

16,000 consultations of international talents for Austria’s benefit 

In the year 2024, ABA provided close to 16,000 consultations to skilled workers on the issue of living and working in Austria, more than doubling the comparable figure for 2023. This increase can be attributed to an expansion of its target markets and intensive communications activities. “In addition to our activities in European countries, we have also set our sights on skilled workers in Brazil, Indonesia and the Philippines who are urgently needed in Austria. These three countries stand out due to their well-trained, young, and mobile populations,” René Tritscher explains. The service centre ABA Immigration and Residence Services carried out close to 4,000 consultations in 2024 on issues such as the Red-White-Red-Card.  

The new Austrian Federal Government which began its work at the beginning of March 2025 has committed itself to further enhancing the attractiveness of Austria as a business location. “The government programme includes a series of measures to strengthen the business location. More specifically, existing laws are to undergo an effectiveness evaluation and streamlined where appropriate. Approval procedures will be accelerated and access of international skilled workers to the Austrian labour market via the Red-White-Red-Card is to be digitalised and simplified,” ABA Managing Director René Tritscher concludes. 

About Austrian Business Agency (ABA)

As a subsidiary of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy (BMAW), the Austrian Business Agency (ABA) makes Austria attractive to international companies, skilled workers, and film producers. With its three business divisions INVEST in AUSTRIA, WORK in AUSTRIA and FILM in AUSTRIA, the ABA advises and supports international companies, skilled workers, and film productions free of charge on all issues relating to Austria as a business, research, and work location as well as Austria as a film location. >> We simply make it easy. 

www.aba.gv.at/en

Contact:

Thomas Schweinberger
Public Relations
Tel.: +43 1 588 58-462
Mobil: +43 676 898 590 462
presse@aba.gv.at